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How to Use Facebook to Deepen Your Group's Connections

Social media has provided us with a unique opportunity to create new kinds of connections, and to add a new layer to the relationships we already have. I've always thought the key to success for a small group is that there are multiple connections happening among group members outside of the group's "meeting time". Facebook and Twitter provide a great platform for that to happen. Here are some ways a group can utilize Facebook to improve their group:

1. Establish a Facebook group that includes everyone in the small group. When individuals post on Facebook, they can choose at any time to share things with only a particular group, making this a quick and private way to share prayer requests and feedback.

2. Use Facebook to get pre-meeting feedback. Imagine beginning a Bible study with, "I asked you guys last week what you thought a healthy use of credit cards looked like, and here's what you said…"

3. Establish meetings and events and schedule them on Facebook, allowing members to invite their friends and receive RSVP's. It's a non-threatening way to gauge how much draw a particular event might have.

4. Encourage members of the group with a private Facebook message (essentially an email) once per month. Let them know you're glad they're in the group and that you're available for them when they need you.

5. Offer shareable content from the last meeting. Try writing down key quotes from group members and sharing them as wall posts during the week.

6. Challenge group members to "like" posts from other group members, introducing their own circles of friends to the life of the group.

7. Check in. Establish your group as a Facebook "place" so that members can check in each week, letting their friends know they value this time. (Note: This is best reserved for groups that meet somewhere other than a private residence.)

8. Point group members to helpful and encouraging resources that supplement or add to what is being talked about in group time. This might include devotionals, articles, or videos that stimulate spiritual growth.

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